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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263093">The Kingfisher and the Harbinger</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyedian/pseuds/Kyedian'>Kyedian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Character Death, Hitman AU, Light Mentions of Alcohol Abuse, Mentions of decapitation, Multi, fairgameweek2020, mentions of alcohol withdrawal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:34:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyedian/pseuds/Kyedian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two hitman by the codenames of Kingfisher and Harbinger have been rivals since their names were first heard on the black market. People would think that if they ever met, the whole of New York would be taken down with their fight. They were two of the richest and most powerful hitmen and no one would doubt for a second that they would do anything it took for them to kill each other. Turns out everyone, including themselves, were very wrong, their meeting turned out quite different.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! This is chapter 1 of the Hitman AU and I am using it as one of my entries for Day 7 of fair game week. This first chapter is quite plain, basic intro stuff along with some extra but nothing graphic, all that begins just a bit later. There will be an assortment of ships mentioned but that's not going to be till later, part 1 of this is completed but there's a second part in the works currently which will showcase more ships along with my ocs. This Hitman AU was inspired off the hitman fair game art done on Tumblr by the artist 0peliu. Anyways, hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hitmen were mysterious entities. They were thought to have no feelings or emotions, they followed orders, and were complete loners. Rarely spotted and if spotted in public it normally meant someone was about to die. Most of the time hitmen aren’t recognized as hitmen in public, they were masters at blending in and going unnoticed which assists them in avoiding law enforcement and finishing jobs. Most times when they are noticed is when they encounter each other, they never get along after all it's a competition to be hired. You gotta be good and if you aren’t, well you aren’t going to make much money and if you don’t make much money then you aren’t going to survive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There are top ranking ones all through the world but at the moment the part of the world that was in touch with the black market were all talking about Harbinger and Kingfisher, two of the more hidden and hard to find hitmen but two of the best. The most people ever heard from them was to curse each other out, they never showed their faces while they did it but their voices were indisputable. Most didn’t even know what they looked like since they covered most of their faces when in the eyes of those who knew about them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>These two were an enigma, nothing was known about them other then how good they were and their strong hate for each other. The world would hope they never crossed paths because their assumption is that they would do anything to kill each other and they were right, for now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover Ebi, aka Kingfisher, walked into the large mansion of his main boss, a gang leader and businessman named Jacques Schnee. His outfit was quite simple at the moment, a black skin tight; on the torso; turtleneck with sleeves that he had rolled up to his elbows, a black vest which he left unbuttoned, black gloves, black tight pants, black almost knee high boots with accents of a dark teal, a black thigh holster that sat on his left thigh, small black studs that were rarely taken out or changed, and then a nice black respirator with turquoise accents. He wore the respirator to alter his voice as well as keep his face mostly hidden, he got the tip from his father, who was no longer in the business. Currently, he was only armed with a pistol and a knife hidden inside his left boot. He moved almost silently, his boots barely made a sound on the tile despite all the weight, most of it purely muscle, he carried and the slight heel to his boots. He knew the mansion like the back of his hand by now as he had been here hundreds of times before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He climbed up the elegant stairwell as he adjusted his gloves. There was not a single servant in sight and it was slightly concerning so a hand hovered over his pistol, the latch no longer buttoned so the pistol could be in hand and ready in a matter of seconds. Through the halls he wandered, his destination was deep within the mansion. It took him three minutes to reach his destination, the study. He entered and the man who called him was at the desk. “You’re late,” he says gruffly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stood at the door for a solid fifteen minutes because no one would answer,” Clover replies. The man sighs and slides a file to the edge of the desk in the hitman's direction. He moves forward and picks it up and flips through it. A classic case, a businessman who is getting too high in the food chain for this man's liking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suggest you hurry up, Harbinger was assigned the same target from a </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he says. Clover’s expression changed to a scowl as he thought of losing a target to Harbinger, it wouldn’t be the first time but that doesn’t mean it pissed him off any less.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s done,” Clover says turning. He leaves without another word. He picked up pace as he got farther from the study and for sure didn’t take his time getting to the place mentioned in the file. He grabbed his bag containing his sniper from the trunk and headed to the roof where he set up and waited. There was no sign of Harbinger, he didn’t know what the other looked like but he had a guess. He had a lot of freetime and most of his thoughts were occupied with the thought of Harbinger, trying to figure him out as well as figure out what he looked like. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover’s knowledge of Harbinger was the same as everyone else connected to this lifestyle and the black market. He knew close to nothing, only what his voice sounded like, that he was good, and that they had a mutual hate for each other. He also couldn’t helped but wonder what he was like in a more personal way, if it weren’t for the rivalry, would they be friends or would they still hate each other? Was Harbinger anything like how he showed himself? Did he have a persona like Clover did when he filmed the videos or when working? He had a lot of questions and no answers, it was frustrating but something he just had to deal with. He knew one thing, he didn’t actually want to fight Harbinger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An hour passed of Clover sitting and waiting, there was no activity. He stayed alert just in case but he let himself mess with some stray rocks and lose focus for a bit to zone out. A few more minutes pass and he peeks through the scope and sees someone who seemed to be studying the area. They were tall and lean, quite a bit of muscle but not as much compared to Clover. He wore black dress pants that were well fitted, black shoes, a red button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing the inside was black, a nice black vest that was buttoned up, a black tie, red plugs and a small black hoop towards the top of the cartilage of his left ear, and black gloves. His hair was black with greying hairs and for the most part slicked back, he also has an undercut, and he had a bit of facial hair but not a whole lot. He seemed familiar, there was something about him that made Clover feel tense. It was also triggering his fight or flight response. This meant only one thing, it was Harbinger. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow Branwen, aka Harbinger, checked the time as he studied the area where his target should be. It would be an easy take down, the man never traveled with bodyguards and he should be leaving at any moment now. He was hoping a certain hitman would show up so he could finally meet his nemesis but so far there seemed to be nothing, no sign of his target and no sign of Kingfisher. What type of name was Kingfisher anyways? It’s a tiny harmless bird. It was for that reason that Qrow didn’t have much fear for the other male, then again some of the stories he heard in the black market spooked him a bit. The fact that with one swing he could decapitate someone completely was a terrifying thing to hear, but he knew Kingfisher didn’t use a sword very often, most of the time it was one of many types of guns or a pretty large knife but still even that was deadly. He feared anything to due with blunt force coming from the other but also knowing this information made him even more curious of what the face behind the wonderful voice was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow would never admit it but Kingfisher’s smooth and deep voice made him swoon a bit, it was calming and nice to hear. He still hated him for taking so many jobs from him but then again he couldn’t help but want to meet Kingfisher without getting into a fight. He wanted to see why he chose this profession and who trained him and things like that, but being friends with another hitman was rare and it most likely wouldn’t happen with the shit they say about each other. Suddenly the hairs on the back of Qrow’s neck stood up and he looked around, he was being watched. He focused his thoughts on that feeling and looked to a roof, a perfect vantage point. Of course Qrow didn’t have his binoculars on him but he could tell something was up there and it was watching him closely. He acted like he didn’t notice and casually continued his search before making his way across the street. He swiftly made his way to the roof and slipped up there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clover cursed when he lost sight of Harbinger. He pulled the knife from his boot and slipped it into a good place as he unholstered his pistol. His turquoise eyes scanned the roof intensely, his senses were alert and aware of every little thing around him. He checked to make sure his pistol was locked and loaded. It was. He heard a slight noise come from behind the door and his eyes widened as Harbinger came out from behind it, knife in hand but otherwise unarmed. Both of them seemed to freeze as they locked eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood frozen, other then their eyes that slowly moved up and down the other. It was clear neither of them had an idea on what to do but they did share one thought, the other was really fucking hot. When turquoise met a maroon red, they lowered their weapons. “Kingfisher,” Qrow says, keeping up a tough facade as if the two males hadn’t just heavily checked each other out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Harbinger.” Clover’s voice was just as cold and emotionless. He holstered his pistol, leaving the latch undone just in case. “Am I going to be able to get this job done?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty sure this is my job, Mr. Perfect,” Qrow replies crossing his arms after slipping the knife back into its place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr. Perfect? Sweetie, I kill people for a living. I’m far from perfect.” He sits back down and peeks through his scope, nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, this is my job. I was hired before you therefore it’s mine,” Qrow continues. Clover just rolled his eyes as he looked at the other hitman, the way he was sitting probably wasn’t the most appropriate for the situation as it left him very open. He had an elbow rested on the ledge with the other arm over his stomach as one leg was stretched out and the other was bent slightly to the side and resting on the same crate his sniper sat on. The other hitman looked elsewhere. “We get it, you’re attractive.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? Does someone have feelings?” Clover was pretty good at being emotionless, he had grown up in this life, raised by his father who was also a very well known hitman who revealed himself later in life. It was a reason why Clover never wanted to reveal himself unless he had built his own name for himself because he didn’t want to be known as ‘Cardins’ kid’. Other then when on jobs, Clover was a very emotional and kind person, afterall he let a kid join his group and treated the kid as his little brother. He hated when he had to get cold and mean sometimes but other times, like now, he could care less. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what if I do? I’m still human aren’t I? But back to what I was saying, get. This is my job.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we really doing this? We just put our weapons away, that’s a silent truce. Anyways I have a tip that you probably don’t have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that is?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now why would I tell you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cause this is my job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus Christ, Harbinger. Drop it, it’s my case. I have more information and I’m already set up.” Qrow moved closer causing Clover to pull himself up so he was sitting on the ledge now. He sighs and stops just in front of the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kingfisher, I don’t normally do this but I think I’ll make an exception for you.” He had never done this of his own accord but he wanted to know more and this would tell him if Kingfisher was truly as cold and emotionless as he was letting on and this was the quickest way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t like where this is going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh you will.” Qrow decided to sit down on Clover’s knees, pressing his shins against the brick. “Maybe I can persuade you.” By now he had a blush on his face, so they both had mutual feelings for each other. Hate and lust. Clover’s hands came to rest on the others lower back as one of Qrow’s wrapped around the back of his head while the other rested on his shoulder/neck. He looked up at the other male, his face also flushed as he leaned closer. Their lips pressed together and their hunger burst free, this job doesn’t have a lot of perks when it comes to the sexual activity side of things. Clover had to admit he liked this, he didn’t like Harbinger but man he could kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Qrow finally pulled away, a soft smirk sat on his face as he licked his lips. “Not bad, not bad at all,” he muses. “Too bad we can’t be friends.” His thoughts were changing, there was something different about that kiss, it told him that Kingfisher was and gentle and most likely kind with for sure a lack of love in his life. He went to move but strong hands held him there by his hips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come back to my room with me,” Clover says, keeping his eyes locked with Qrow’s. The other hitman's eyes widened. “We both could use it, this man will be here tomorrow.” Qrow couldn’t help but consider, the kiss was tender and sweet with underlying layers of lust. The soft tone in the others voice didn’t help either, along with his sudden attraction for Kingfisher. Clover was feeling the same and thinking the same, it's why he made this offer. He normally wouldn’t since he wasn’t one for sleeping around but Harbinger just seemed different and Harbinger was the same way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Qrow says. “But if we’re to go anywhere, you kind of need to let me go.” Clover lets him go with a chuckle. They took his car after he packed up his sniper. The motel was surprisingly nice for a motel and Qrow ended up staying the night, longer then planned, much longer and this would later have consequences. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After their first meeting, Clover is left alone. Unfortunately for the two, feelings were starting to bubble up and Clover tried acting on those feelings but things went South.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Trigger warning for alcohol abuse.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Clover opened his eyes, pain throbbed all over his body but it was a pain he enjoyed because it reminded him of the events of last night. He noticed the empty bed and a sad sigh escaped him as he sat up. There were no signs of Harbinger, his clothes and personal items were gone but there was a note on the nightstand. He grabbed it and read it, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thanks for last night, it was fun. You’re a nice man, Kingfisher.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ It made him smile as he pulled himself from the bed. He placed the note back and didn’t bother dressing his bare body, just went and took a shower after examining the hickeys on his neck and torso, along with the marks on his back. He was hoping Harbinger was well, he had left quite a few more on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After his shower he returned to the roof where he found a note. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Time of death: 5:56am. Thanks for all the soreness’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Clover was amused by this and pocketed the note before deciding to find some food, he wasn’t too upset by this for some reason. Well, there was a reason just one he wasn’t acknowledging right now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Days passed and those days turned into weeks. Jobs were still coming in steadily and he handled them without a problem but his free time was more occupied. Thoughts of that night would get him flustered at random times, hearing a video containing Qrow’s voice would turn him into a mess and neither of their hate videos were as bad as normal. The newest one was up and Clover was relaxing with the kid when it came on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kingfisher! It’s been a while since you’ve replied to me, I’m hurt. I’m starting to think you’ve abandoned me. Are you scared of something? Or just reminiscing of that night? I know I am, thanks for that though, It was a good break. Word hasn’t quieted down about you so I know you’re listening. Stop being a coward and reply to me you bastard.” The video of the silhouetted figure disappears. Clover rolls his eyes as he pushes himself to his feet, Marrow looked confused as he paused the cleaning of his gun. He hopped to his feet when he saw what the hitman was doing, he was setting up the cameras. Once Clover was good he started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Harbinger. Someone missing me? That’d be bad for your rep. That night was a good break, I won’t talk about it here though because people are listening after all. I heard you’ve had a bit of a dry spell since I’ve been getting more jobs, sorry not sorry but it just proves I should’ve gotten that job. I’m pretty sure you’re the coward since you turned tail and ran that morning. Anyways, I’ve got better things to do then talk shit about a little birdie. Kingfisher signing off.” The camera cuts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened on the night both you and Harbinger mentioned?” Marrow asks. “The others will ask questions.” They weren’t friends, Marrow was an exception since he was so young, only worked together on bigger cases. They were like a pack when sent out on the large tracking missions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re too young,” Clover replies with a chuckle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Also! How come you didn’t tell us you met Harbinger, he’s literally your nemesis!” He was the embodiment of a dog, which one was probably a battle between a husky and a golden retriever.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calm down, Marrow.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, sir.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright, I’m going out.” He removes his thigh holster and checks to make sure his knife is in place as well as that his phone is on him before leaving. He didn’t take his car, just walked. He wasn’t heading to the black market, he was heading to the roof of that building. He missed Harbinger, his body yearned for the contact they had that night. He couldn’t tell if his personal thoughts on Harbinger had changed but he did know that the lust was still there and maybe there was more then just lust there now. He sat in the same spot as he remembered. He remembered the feeling of Harbinger’s lips on his and the way he tasted, the feeling of Harbinger’s hand gripping the back of his head. He remembered all of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing up here?” A soft voice asks. He opened his eyes and saw an older lady standing in the doorway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just remembering things, enjoying the fresh air,” Clover replies smiling softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is quite a beautiful day out, mind if I join you?” Clover shakes his head and helps the old lady sit on the ledge next to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you remembering?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An interaction I had with someone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was it special?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess, we kissed here… it was nice.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me about him.” Clover paused and looked at her. “My son was gay while my other isn’t, they both talk differently about kisses. You’re more hesitant, while a straight male wastes no time to speak about the kiss or talk about the girl. At least for my sons that’s the case… you remind me of my son actually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm, where is he now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Passed away, died in the military.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my condolences. What about your other one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Married, off somewhere else… I’m all alone here but I like the easily accessible roof, though.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if you’d enjoy the company I could visit during breaks in my work.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I would love that, how long will you be here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“However long, I was just coming to relive some memories from a few weeks ago.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, now what was this boy like?” Clover went on to explain all the good things he learned about Harbinger. He was gentle and sweet, very flirtatious and snarky but overall lovely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long have you two been together?” she asks curiously after he finished, a faint blush on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We aren’t… he kissed me then we went to my motel and he was gone by morning,” he replies looking down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then chase after him, you sound like you care a whole lot about him so you should fight for him.” Clover considered it and a lightbulb went off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I gotta go, I’ll visit again soon…” he trailed off not knowing her name. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maria, and yours?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh what a wonderful name, good luck getting your man!” He smiles and runs off. He sped to the base and burst inside scaring the shit out of Marrow and a throwing knife narrowly missing his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t do that!” Harriet snaps, she had fallen from her chair that was precariously balanced on one of the back legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get the cameras going!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? You just shot a video almost an hour ago,” Marrow says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, I know, come on!” Clover says as he gets into place. “Marrow, get it going then all of you get out.” Once he gets the thumbs up from Marrow they leave. He clears his throat. “I know a second message is unconventional for me but I’m making up for lost time. Anyways, you bastard, you called me a coward and yet you continue to hide from me after our one night stand. You haven’t crossed my path once and it’s almost been two months! You’re avoiding me yet you have the audacity to call me a coward! I know it’s called a one night stand but I can’t get you out of my head, it’s annoying. You couldn’t even stay till fucking morning, I woke up and you were gone. You may have left a note, yeah two notes, but it wasn’t enough for me. I spent a week with marks covering my body that reminded me of you and that night! You left me without a word. You know where to find me, black bird.” It turned out more aggressive then he planned but he didn’t care he just watched the large screen to his side. He drummed his fingers on the side of his thigh before reaching up and pulling at the tight neck of his dark red turtleneck, same as his black one and it came with his normal tight black pants and black with dark teal boots. Fifteen minutes passed and Clover was getting more nervous, he glanced away and suddenly a voice filled his ears with a tone he never wanted to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Coward?! I am the fucking coward? You contact me through video, you expose me, you treat me like some piece of shit while hinting at the fact that you love me and call me a coward! Frankly, I’m hurt! I don’t give a shit if I’m admitting this and we’re not supposed to have feelings but I’m having some huge feelings right now! Kingfisher, I’m pretty sure I started to love you! You were so gentle and sweet to me and I want nothing more but to see you again but now I think it’s smart we stay the way we have been. You hurt me.” Harbinger’s voice was breaking when he got to the third coward. Tears began to fall down Clover’s face as he dropped to his knees. </span>
</p>
<p>“Fucking hell!” he cries. Marrow poked in. “Get out!” He instantly left, Clover had never acted like this but then again he had never felt like this before. It felt like his heart had shattered into a million pieces. He did this, he broke his own heart. A scream escaped him as he slammed his fists down on the concrete. He was to his feet, gun holstered, keys in hand, and out the door in seconds. Harriet and Marrow moved out of the way as Clover charged by. They could hear the car pull out of their underground lot.</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow wasn’t doing any better. He sat on the ground silently crying as he hid his face behind his arms which rested on his knees. He knew better then to cry loudly with Raven in the room. Raven is his sister, twin actually, they kind of stuck together but there was a strong hate between them. There used to be two others, Tai and Summer. Summer died during a mission and Tai left after that with the kids, which he had one with Raven and the youngest with Summer. A large knife sat in the mortar of the bricks, he threw it at the screen but it’s a hologram so it went through and stuck into the wall. His thoughts were all on that night, it was hurting him more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Qrow! What the hell was that noise?” Raven asks. She spots the knife in the wall and looks down at her brother. “What the hell are you crying about? Also what the fuck were those videos?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Raven! Please, just leave me be!” Qrow snaps looking up at his twin with watery eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me you actually got attached,” Raven hisses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Says the woman who fell in love, got married, and had a kid!” Qrow snaps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out!” she shouts. “Get the fuck out! Come back when you get your shit together!” Qrow glared at his twin as he gathered his things together but was soon gone and on his way to his apartment. Once in his apartment he lost control again. He hunted down the whiskey bottle and drank right from the bottle. He was confused, he spent one night with the male and here he was. He should’ve known better. He settled down on his couch with the half empty bottle of whiskey, he didn’t care about his recovery anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover was still driving hours later. Tears stung his eyes as he pressed his foot down more on the petal. He was out of the city, barely any cars. The car was going full speed when he threw the wheel to the side causing the car to spin, he made sure it just spun and didn’t fly off the road. His eyes closed tightly. He was beyond pissed at himself, he did this. He hurt not just himself, he hurt the first person he started to fall in love with. He slams on the brakes and the seatbelt was the only thing to save him from slamming his head on the wheel, he already almost did. He was shaking as he gripped the wheel, trying not to cry. So many emotions were going through his head, concern for Harbinger, anger for himself for starting to fall in love, then sorrow for losing something that could’ve been amazing. He needed to apologize. He moved the car to the side of the road and set up his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Harbinger. I’m sorry. I let my emotions take control and I should’ve checked myself. I shouldn’t have exposed you, but to be fair I exposed myself too. I am a fully 100% gay man, something I like to keep hidden but now it doesn’t matter. The things I said were out of line and I shouldn’t have said most of them, I was just following our normal thing but I took it too far. I’m sorry… can we talk about this? Please… I’m so sorry. You know where I’ll be,” he says. He reaches forward and hits end. He knew his medias would blow up even more, they had been the whole drive. The whole of the black market knew of this and would see all of that. He started his speedy drive back into the city. When he was slowing down, he was nearing busy streets, his phone pinged. He pulled to the side of the road and grabbed his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll give you props on the bravery for coming out. You’re right, you were out of line. Emotions are a deadly thing but your sorrys mean nothing. You hurt me, I will not meet you on the roof. Have a good life, Kingfisher,” Qrow says. His words slightly slurred and despite it only being a silhouette, Clover could tell something was wrong. He punched the dashboard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck did I do?” Clover cries. He lost it, tears fell as sobs tore through him. He didn’t think a one night stand would ever hurt him as much as this did. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Chapters will vary in length but they should all be at least 1000+ words. Anyways, I don’t have much to say but I hope you enjoyed and that today is treating you well.</p>
<p>~ Kye 💖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Mentions of relapse and alcoholism, is brought up in a talk</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A few weeks passed and Kingfisher stood on the corner of a tall building overlooking the city. He was rarely found at his nice apartment or base anymore, he only went there to grab supplies and to his apartment to care for his plants. He slept in his car most nights, he visited with Maria when he could but mostly focused on jobs. It had only been three weeks and he had killed probably 36 people, most in the city but others weren’t. Demand for him was higher but he often wouldn’t accept any once the sun went down, most of the urgent ones went to Harbinger then. His outfits were still different, tinges of red here and there and if he chose to stick with his normal all black, except teal on the boots, it was solved by always wearing a red bandana on his left arm. His heart ached and late at night he would think of him but otherwise he was quite successful in not thinking about the other hitman. Tonight was rough for him and he couldn’t really figure out why, his normal cocky attitude was gone as it was replaced with insecurities and self hatred. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t jump,” a familiar voice says. The voice tugged on his heart strings and Clover knew who it was instantly. He spun on his heel and froze at the sight of Harbinger, who didn’t look all that well. His hair was messy and he clearly wasn’t dressed for his job, black athletic pants hung loosely at his waist, basic shoes were on his feet and a big red hoodie was on his torso. His red piercings were still there and so was the undercut but also dark circles found a home under his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t planning on it,” Clover replies softly. He wasn’t in uniform either, white tight pants, green sleeveless hoodie, grey muscle shirt that wasn’t visible, blue almost knee high boots, dark brown fingerless gloves, the red bandana on his left bicep, and black studs. Under his eyes were dark circles of his own, his eyes were slightly swollen from the crying he had done a bit ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure? You look like shit,” he replies, walking over to the edge. He removed his hands from his pockets so he could rest his arms on the ledge. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just looking, it’s calming and you don’t look much better,” he says, hopping down and turning, he mirrors Harbinger’s position. He noticed the hitman had his nails painted black. He smiled softly at that and made a mental note that its something they both enjoy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, I try.” Silence followed that response. The two just looked out over the city. “I was actually looking for you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This has been tearing at me since that day, please don’t cut me off,” Harbinger says before taking a deep breath. “I was a recovering alcoholic, I started to try going sober for my nieces but it was really hard. I chose to hide my withdrawal and just suffered quietly. That night with you managed to relieve my suffering and it scared me, I’ve never met someone who could take away my pain so easily. That day our video fight happened, I drank again. I drank until I couldn’t see straight, luckily my sister came by to drop off some other stuff or I might’ve kept drinking. She doesn’t really give a shit so I’m still drinking, don’t think I can stop at this point. I try but then I have a breakdown and do it again, there’s no point to my recovering anyways. Tai already doesn’t want me seeing the kids anyways… I didn’t realize how much I liked our videos until after they stopped, it was nice hearing your voice even if we were talking shit. It gave me something to look forward to. I always secretly wanted to meet you and just not worry about having to fight to the death then when we got intimate I realized how much I wanted something like that but I’m just too damn scared… I really am a coward. Kingfisher, I’m not fit for you. Not right now at least, so stop losing sleep over this. Stop worrying. Just forget about me if you have to.” Clover could tell this was all really hard for him, it was a lot to admit you have a problem and even more so to say the things Harbinger just said. He was also shaking and avoiding eye contact more than normal, his grip on his forearms was tight and his shoulders were tense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Birdie, you aren’t a coward. You just told someone something so personal. That takes a lot of bravery and I’m really sorry for that day. I wanted to make that video to talk to you, to become friends but it took a vicious turn. Harbinger, do you remember the conversation we had that night before we fell asleep?” Clover asks, looking at the other.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, I was still recovering and on top of that I was exhausted.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I told you that everything I did and said that night was true and meant something. I loved our video bashing, it was fun… made it feel like I had a friend, if that makes sense. I care about you, Harbinger. Yeah, I hate you when it comes to work but now that I’ve seen a portion of who you are outside of this job, I don’t want to let go. I don’t want to forget about you. Harbinger, I care about you. I know we’re supposed to hate each other but we have groups, who says we can’t have friends… or even lovers?” he replies softly, he shifts a bit to be closer to Harbinger, their elbows almost touching. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Qrow.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name… it’s Qrow, Qrow Branwen.” This was a big step when it came to hitmen, revealing your true names meant complete trust especially with a last name tagged on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover Ebi.” He smiled softly when he felt Qrow touch their elbows together. “Take this slow?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for a relationship, Clover.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll see about that, mind if I come back with you. I want to make sure you’re safe and that you don’t do anything tonight.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then take this.” Qrow reaches inside his hoodie pocket and pulls out a silver flask, holding it out to Clover with a shaky hand. He takes it and places it in his own pocket. “Do what you want with it, if I somehow manage to quit this then I won’t need it.” Clover nods and presses their elbows together once more. “You can only stay if my twin isn’t there.” He nods in response but neither of them made a move to leave. They stood there looking out over the city, they finally felt at peace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover guessed about two hours, probably close to three, passed when he felt Qrow start to lean into him a bit more, he was falling asleep. “Black Bird,” Clover whispers as he gently nudges the smaller male. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?” Qrow hums in response as his eyes stay closed, he didn’t know he was leaning into Clover until he felt a strong arm wrap around him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let's get you home.” Qrow let himself be picked up and carried off, he was too tired to care. The car was nice. The seats were comfortable and the way the front seat was made it so he could rest his head on Clover’s thigh and doze after putting the address into the GPS. It turned out that the two lived across the city from each other, which meant Qrow came to Clover’s side of the city to try and find him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover carried Qrow into the apartment and took it all in as he moved. He used his foot to open the bedroom door and set Qrow down, tucking him into bed after removing his socks and shoes and helping him out of his hoodie, turns out he didn’t have a shirt on under it. “Good night, birdie,” Clover mumbles, pulling away and heading for the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Night, Cloves,” Qrow mumbles, smiling softly at the figure in the doorway who paused at that. Clover continued on and closed the door. He went back to the main room and sighed at the mess. He cracked his knuckles before getting to work. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello! I hope you all are doing well! Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. This chapter was much softer compared to the shit that happened last chapter haha, I hope y’all enjoyed. Thanks again for reading!</p>
<p>~ Kye 💖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Qrow’s eyes fluttered open as soft sunlight peaked through his plain gray curtains. He slept through the night, or what was left of it since he didn’t get home till late. His memory brought back the thought of Clover carrying him inside, had the other stayed? He reluctantly pulled himself out of bed, glancing at the time. It was 8am, he felt slightly rested despite the early time. He didn’t pull on the hoodie, his curiosity of Clover’s whereabouts were too strong and he was still partially asleep. He walked down his hall and froze, his apartment was clean, well more organized. There were piles of things that Clover had no clue what to do with, the coffee table was mostly clean except with two piles of mail stuff and a mug. One blanket was folded and draped along the back of the couch while the other was draped over a sleeping figure. Clover. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover was on his side with the plaid patterned blanket draped over his legs. His right arm was under his head while his left arm rested on his side/in front of him. He was too long to fit on the couch stretched out so his knees were bent causing him to be a bit more curled. He looked comfortable despite Qrow knowing his couch wasn’t the best because it was pretty old. He noticed the dark green sleeveless hoodie folded neatly on the table and realized the bareness of his scar covered torso. “He shouldn’t mind,” Qrow mumbles leaning down and picking it up. He pulled it on and smiled, it was big on him since Clover was a good few inches taller and quite a bit more muscled but it was nice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It looks good on you,” a voice heavy with sleep murmurs from behind him. “Green does too.” Qrow turns and smiles softly as he sees the turquoise eyes of the other hitman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you like your coffee?” he asks, adjusting the hoodie a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cream and sugar, please,” Clover answers sitting up and stretching with a loud yawn. He nods and walks into the kitchen and finds it clean as well, the dishwasher had been run and other dishes were put away. “Can I use your shower?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, the bathroom is down the hall next to my room,” Qrow replies. It doesn’t surprise him that he doesn’t hear footsteps so he continued like nothing happened. A bit more then a few minutes passed and he was relaxing on the couch now. His feet rested on the coffee table as he held a coffee mug in his hands. He turns his head and a blush takes over as Clover stands there in just his white pants. He had the pure build of an athlete with very toned muscles. Qrow looked away quite quickly so he didn’t notice the plethora of scars covering him, including the thick jagged one on his chest. “Holy shit.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I need my hoodie back,” Clover says resting his arms on top of his head. “Unless you’re fine with me walking around shirtless until I need to go.” Qrow chuckles as he starts pulling the hoodie off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have two cases to handle later today… could use some assistance. It’s uh, assassinating the head of security and his assistant,” Qrow says, handing the other his hoodie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’d need to drop by my place so I can change and grab my gear or I can meet you at a meet up point tonight,” he says as he pulls on the hoodie and goes to the kitchen where he finds his coffee in the microwave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should meet up since you probably have things to do,” he replies with a simple shrug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should make amends with my team, haven’t been back to my base for a few weeks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a team?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A ‘team’, we assist each other on big missions and that’s about it… well, we also all pitch in to help the kid, he’s only 18.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn. Never really took you for the type to have a team.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t think you were the type to kiss and tell.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ouch.” Clover came around the corner with his tongue sticking out. “Rude.” The two share a laugh before Clover takes a spot on the couch and tilts his head at the TV, talking about the event tonight showcasing the mayor and their targets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is tonight a suit night?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Depends on how we go about this, the roof tops will probably be secured by guards so most likely.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if we do some infiltration, take over two guards and then just take out both then we can easily blend in to escape.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like a good plan, you ever taken- oh wait you took out the mayor one year.” Clover nods with a smile on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We want this on tv?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could care less, it’ll end up there at some point.” The two nod and discuss the plan more before Clover heads out to stop at some shops on the way to his base. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day flew by, Clover made amends with Marrow and spent the rest of the day gathering things for the event. Once the event was upon them, the two hitmen made their way to the meetup point. Clover had gotten the SWAT uniforms and Qrow wasn’t going to question from where. “How do I look?” Clover asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like a professional,” Qrow replies with a chuckle as he looked the other up and down. Clover was doing the same and when they locked eyes, he winked. The other hitman backed up a bit as he cast his eyes to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyways, Harbinger, shall we?” Clover asks. “I got us positioned behind and on either side of the podium but we gotta report to the chief.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You amaze me, Kingfisher,” Qrow replies, adjusting his grip on his rifle. Clover chuckles and drops off from their small perch and Qrow follows. They silently merge with the other officers and are assigned to just where Clover said. Qrow was behind the chairs where the other speakers sat including the mayor and their targets while Clover was on the other side of the podium. He messed with his radio, switching channels. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait till he goes to speak, his assistant will follow because they have the papers, and we’ll both go… we want the mayor?” His voice was hushed but enough for the radio to pick it up but not enough for the officer near him to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmmm tempting, I was given no restrictions to other casualties and if you just happen to ‘mess up’ you could get him. He isn’t the best we could do, he kind of just seems in it for the money.” Qrow’s voice was the same volume as Clover’s. They went quiet and still as the person opening the ceremony steps up. The two hitmen would sneak secret glances at each other but otherwise would avoid looking at each other. Minutes passed and Clover could tell Qrow was getting antsy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on, black bird,” Clover says softly during a switch of speakers. The mayor was going. “Just a little bit longer.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kingfisher, don’t leave your normal things. We’ll have the FBI on our asses,” Qrow says. Clover had a habit of leaving a kingfisher feather at his scenes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir, also follow me when we escape.” No response but that was because the mayor was nearing the end of his little speech. The two hitmen tighten their grips on their rifles. The medal case is opened and the mayor moves, still in line for it to be a ‘misfire’. The assistant follows timidly behind their boss as the pair walk up and stand across from the mayor. As if one of them had given a command, they both lifted their rifles and three heads were turned inside out. Screams took over the crowds but by the time the officers reacted, the two were out of sight as two flashbangs went off in their place. They weren’t too far but that would change. The pair were currently in a little alcove pressed together. “Thank god for black uniforms.” Qrow has his back pressed to the concrete but still Clover’s front was pressed against his, Qrow’s left leg was between both of Clover’s as his left leg was between both of the shorter males. The two were blushing a bit as they held still. They both had their heads turned away from the light but Clover would glance out to watch for an opening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a little tight, King,” Qrow mumbles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You claustrophobic?” Clover asks softly, genuine concern in his voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, just being pressed up against you is….” he trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is what?” Clover took note of the shade of red on the others face and let a quiet amused chuckle slip out. “Hold on.” Qrow became alert at that, as well as at the sudden tenseness in Clover’s muscles. “Follow me.” Clover suddenly burst free of the alcove, taking Qrow with for a moment. He followed pretty close behind the taller one who ran and jumped, grabbing onto a window ledge and pulling himself up enough to make a small push to the fire escape. The two flipped in and began to climb up it, a pistol in their hands. A gunshot went off and Qrow looked up, it was Clover’s pistol that went off. There was a loud clang of a body hitting the fire escape, the whole thing shook and Qrow braced himself until it settled a bit before continuing his climb. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Over there!” A voice shouts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on! Someone just called it in!” Clover shouts, hopping over the side of the fire escape and taking a faster path up. Qrow followed, he was a bit slower but he kept up pretty well. Two gunshots blended together to sound like one, Clover thought nothing of it and focused on escaping. He took the other’s hand and the two took off across the roof, they jumped over the short wall and landed on a short roof and kept going. A cheer erupted from Clover as he jumped a bit of a distance. Qrow couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the joy the other was getting over this. “They lost us.” Clover slowed down, his chest rising and falling steadily from each deep breath he took in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cloves,” Qrow croaks, his hand gripped his side tightly. He had been shot and with the adrenaline wearing off he finally noticed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit,” Clover curses rushing forward and moving his hand a bit. He sighs, it was relief. “It’ll need stitches but it’s nothing too bad, just a graze.” He unties the bandana from his knee and undoes his belt. He uses the belt to keep the bandana against the wound. He steps back once he finishes. “Come on, let's get to my base and patch you up.” The pair carry on, taking it a bit slower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover! Did you see the news!” A voice calls when they enter. Clover curses but sighs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who do you think did it?” He replies as he enters the surveillance room, a small smile on his face as he pulls the mask down. He removed the helmet and tossed it to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit! Who did you work with? It looked so cool because at the exact same second both of you had your rifles up and then bam! Bam! Bam! Blood everywhere!” Marrow asks, bouncing as he catches it. “Also that uniform looks really good on you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, so this must be the kid,” Qrow says with an amused look, an eyebrow slightly raised. He had a bad case of hat head and Clover found it adorable as he ruffled it out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, I know that voice… holy fucking shit! It’s Harbinger,” Marrow says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Marrow. Now what the hell are you doing here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I was hanging out here, watching for any of your activity since you disappeared after writing some elaborate plans.” Clover nodded and turned back out of the room, a small smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Next time just ask, I’ll tell you,” Clover says. “Maybe I’ll let you tag along one day.” He can hear Marrow start getting more excited as Qrow follows him out. The door was shut and the two went to Clover’s study. “Make yourself at home while I prepare my supplies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy plants,” Qrow mumbles. There were plants hanging from the ceiling, as well as some thriving in the window, succulents and other plants that lived on the large oak desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I spend most of my time here so I moved a lot of my plants here,” Clover says as he sits down at his desk. “I’m a bit of a plant dad.” Qrow chuckles and goes to the nice black couch and sits down. It smelled earthy in the room, he liked it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you name them?” he asks curiously. The other turns away a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe,” he replies, a tad embarrassed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, you really are a plant dad.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up.” Qrow chuckles again, pulling off his vest and shirt. He sat on the couch and rested his arm on his head so his side was exposed. The two were silent while Clover did his thing. Once he finished Qrow couldn’t stop the words from slipping from his lips. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” Clover sighed and pulled back a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“But it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he sings softly in response, his eyes closing. This was a song he listened to more after the fight. Qrow was visibly shocked, he knew the song, after all it was a popular song titled ‘Little Lion Man’, which also meant he knew the lines that came afterwards: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I really fucked it up this time, didn't I, my dear?’ </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t, I was the one who caused the fight. We both know this, now, you hungry?” The hitman let it go as the other stood up. “How does pizza sound?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.” So they had pizza and relaxed a bit more around each other. They opened up a little bit more. “You know you’re going to have to sing to me more some day.” Clover just laughed. It was a good night, one they were both grateful for. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Howdy! Sorry for uploading a day late, yesterday was a bit rough for me and uploading the new chapter was not in the forefront of my mind. Anyways, thank you so much for reading. Reading the comments really makes my day and it's so nice seeing people enjoy my work, so truly thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. </p>
<p>~ Kye 💖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunlight started to peek through the blinds and got Qrow right in the face causing him to grumble a bit and turn. He was not ready for the morning, he was up way too late last night to be awake at dawn. He took a deep breath and stretched. The scent of the room changed a bit, mixed in with the smell of earth was a hint of pizza. His stomach growled and he sighed, folding into his hunger. He sat up and reached for the pizza box where he found a slice left. There was no sign of Clover, probably doing things. As he ate the slice he left the room to find the other hitman. “Morning, Harbinger!” Marrow’s energetic voice calls from down the hall. He puts on a small smile and waves in response. “If you’re looking for Kingfisher, he’s downstairs.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Marrow,” Qrow replies with a small nod, he gets a nod in return. It takes the hitman a few moments to find the stairwell, didn’t help he had to avoid two females who were walking down the hall. He didn’t feel like interacting with the others without Clover there, so he avoided. A flight of stairs later, he found a gym area. It was quite large and had all the equipment one would need to stay in top shape. His maroon red eyes went right to the exposed back of the person he was looking for, he was doing pull ups. First Qrow was extremely flustered at the sight but then concern took over at the scars covering his back, there were a lot. “You’ve been through some shit.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Haven’t we all,” the other replies dropping down from the bar and turning, more covered his front. The one that he was most curious about was the thick one in the center of his chest with a matching one on his back. How would anyone survive from whatever attack that was and what caused it? “I would say I’m flattered at all this staring but I can tell it’s not that kind of staring.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Qrow mumbles looking away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be, scars tend to raise questions… especially if you have one like this.” His hand gestures to the one on his chest while his other rests on his hip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My only question about it is, how did you survive? There’s clearly an exit wound and the thickness of it shows it would’ve pierced both lungs and your heart.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t even really know, all I know is that it was hit or miss for a few months… this was before I got popular. I was starting my climb but then I was in the hospital for a year. My main boss is the one who paid most of the bills in turn that I drop everything any time he calls.” Clover shifted his weight as he watched Qrow, his expression one full of curiosity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh I don’t like that look,” he mumbles crossing his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I gotta admit I don’t remember much of what your body looked like from that night… so tell me about a scar,” he replies. Qrow sighs rolling his eyes, a small smile on his face. He pulls off the black long sleeved shirt and tied it around his waist as he looks down at the scars. There was a large one that sat horizontal on his right side right above his hip bone, another on his left deltoid, one on top of his right shoulder but it was more on his back, then a large one going from the bottom of his sternum and diagonal to his left shoulder. That one was the thickest one as well as one of his more recent ones, he points to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This one, was supposed to be taking out another gang leader, so I did but then on my escape I got a bit caught up with some of the members. I won but left with a nasty cut from a machete, got lucky that it wasn’t all that deep and didn’t require a hospital trip,” he explains pocketing one hand and talking with the other. He enjoyed the fact that he knew Clover was fully listening to him and actually curious about it. They ended up sharing more scar stories, going back and forth, Qrow even shared the story behind his wing tattoo on his back. They shared a few laughs and got to know each other a bit more through this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, we should probably go and get my car,” Clover says glancing at the clock nearby. Qrow nods and pulls his shirt back on. The other hitman gets a shirt on and they walk to get the car. They shared more stories on the way, well Clover shared more. Qrow was entranced by him, well his voice, what he spoke of was also intriguing but his voice was smooth and pleasant to the ear. He was caught off guard when he was asked a question. “How are you feeling?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Qrow asks blinking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you feeling? You’ve gone so far about two days without a drink,” Clover replies. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel fine, I woke up a bit agitated but otherwise fine.” The other reaches over, placing the back of his hand against Qrow’s forehead. Satisfied, he pulls away sitting up straight again. “I mean I guess there’s a bit of the other symptoms. They- oh shit, Cloves…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C-can you stay with me? I don’t want to go through it alone again. It gets bad, bad to the point of seizures… I’ve been drinking since I got out of highschool or maybe even before that. One of the few times I’ve been hospitalized is because of withdrawal. I’m hoping it won’t be too bad because I’ve had a few years of being sober and I’ve only been drinking for a short few weeks and it was only every so often, true those every so often moments were bad.” He was shaking, it’s from the anxiety he was getting over admitting all of this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, thank you for trusting me with all of this.” He leans over and rests a hand on the others, he rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand for a few seconds before leaning back fully. The rest of that day was Clover mothering Qrow and forcing him to take care of himself. That night the other hitman camped out on the floor of the hosts room because any time he was in a different room from him for more then a few minutes his anxiety would spike. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover had taken apart his pistol and was now cleaning it. He had just moved into Qrow’s room, who was sleeping peacefully. He was very concerned, he had just spent the past two hours doing all the research he could on alcohol withdrawal and it just made him more into a mother hen, especially since symptoms happened within two hours of the last drink to four days and so far two days had passed. At least it meant the worse symptoms wouldn’t rear their ugly heads, hopefully. He finished cleaning his pistol so he put it back together and moved onto his rifle. When things got too quiet, other then the frequent tossing and turning of Qrow, he started to sing. A song called ‘I See You’ by MISSO. He noticed that the tossing and turning became less when he sang, so he sang through most of the night. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Short one today. Also, sorry for missing an update day last week. Anyways, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! </p>
<p>~ Kye 💖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Clover gets kidnapped by his boss and forced to do something he doesn't want to.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Qrow woke up with a throbbing headache, not good. He also noticed he was sweating quite a bit despite the fact that his apartment was always on the cooler side and his blankets were pretty thin, also they were barely on him. He paused and assessed everything about himself to search for any other symptoms. A slight shake to his hands, the headache, sweating, and a odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t think anything of the last one at the moment. He was not excited to leave his bed but then he spotted the person he was going to get up to grab on the floor next to his bed. “Clover?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other hitman opened his eyes at the sound of his name. “Yes?” He questions as he sits up, glancing at the time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing in here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sleeping.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a couch out there, it’s much more comfortable then the hardwood.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was worried, how are you feeling? You look a little warm.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think my days are about to become dreadful. I have a really bad headache at the moment though, I’m also a little shaky and throughout the day I’ll probably get tremors.” Clover nods, concern clear on his face. “But d-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, I will worry and there is no stopping that. I might go make a run to the store to get you some medication.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or you can raid my bathroom closet, I always keep some helpful meds on hand. For now just get me an ibuprofen, which should be in the mirror cabinet.” Clover nods and hops to his feet leaving the room. Qrow was beyond grateful for him, he’s never had someone care about him so much. It was nice but he couldn’t really think about that all too much with the pain in his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I also want you to keep hydrated,” Clover says, grabbing Qrow’s attention. He nods and takes the glass and medication, he drank half the glass when he took the meds and it made Clover happy. That first day was rough, on both of them. Clover was a mess of nerves and concern while Qrow was a trembling mess with a headache and nausea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cloves, if I snap at you, please don’t take it personally. I get very agitated during withdrawal,” Qrow says around lunchtime when the other was trying to get him to eat. Right now his anxiety was spiking because he was scared he was going to hurt Clover or cause him to run and he didn’t want either of those things to happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright, now eat or I’ll shove it down your throat. I don’t care if you feel sick, you need to eat,” he replies. The other was a bit surprised at the forcefulness but just nodded and tried eating more. His nausea was always bad, it also worsened when he got a bad headache which was just now letting up. He managed to make it past lunch though but then the need to drink kicked in and that was a complete other kind of struggle for Qrow, luckily he had some tips and tricks he learned during his last recovery but because of this urge he started getting snappy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This would go on for the rest of the week with the symptoms getting really bad or being barely there. Clover had removed all sources of alcohol from the apartment into his car till he could figure out what to do with it since it was too difficult to fight Qrow on the bad days about drinking. Medication proved helpful for the anxiety and really bad headaches but otherwise they just had to wait it out. Lavender proved good for the anxiety as well so Clover got him a lavender plant for his bedroom windowsill. Qrow also learned to cook a few things during the time periods where he wasn’t an agitated or stuck in bed due to not feeling well. Now he’d gone two days with the symptoms slowly lessening which made him extremely happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m surprised your main boss hasn’t contacted you,” Qrow comments as he washes his hands. The two had just made dinner and were waiting for it to cook in the oven now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He has, I just powered off my phone at his first message so it gives the appearance that my phone was broken,” Clover replies with a shrug. That worried Qrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Won’t he be mad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah but then again he’s always mad. If I come up with a good enough excuse then I should be fine.” That still didn’t ease Qrow’s worries, the things he was told about this man over the week didn’t help. He was a ruthless gang leader with lots of power over a good section of the city. Ignoring him is not a smart choice. “I mean, I think he’s too mad at me to do much with me because I’m gay, but then again he’ll come back at some point.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so on top of everything else he’s homophobic?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup, he also has a very strong hate for you because you’re my rival and if he finds out about this week then oh boy am I gonna have a lecture waiting for me. So, lets keep this under wraps.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.” Qrow had been asked to handle a few jobs but he was forced to decline them all, at least his main hirer was understanding about his situation. The two ate dinner and had their normal messy conversations, jumping from topic to topic and often forgetting what they were originally talking about. During this week, Clover learned more about Qrow’s childhood. The two were now being more open with each other, Qrow learned about Clover’s large family and Clover learned about the Branwen Tribe and more about Qrow’s upbringing, which was far from pleasant and made the urge to hunt down Raven Branwen stronger. Clover opened up a bit tonight about something personal, to repay being told about Summer at around 3am. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So as I was getting more and more popular, so was a person I took in as a partner, romantic and business. His codename was Mako, after the shark,” Clover starts, he notices the expression change on Qrow. “Yeah, Mako was known for his cold bloodedness and gruesome killings. He was the prime example of a hitman, emotionless and fearless but out of work he was an absolute sweetheart. He was tender and caring, full of empathy and love for everything the world had to offer. I think I still have a picture of him in my belt, I know there’s a few in the container in my glove box. Only reason I keep them is because he was more then a lover, he was a best friend. Someone I trusted with every piece of me, one who helped me collect myself after a rough missions that involved breaching my morals or after rough fights with our old boss. Me and him had been together since sophomore year of highschool, so when I got my big chest and back scar we had been together for around ten years. The same day I got this scar, Mako was killed.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you witness it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long ago?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was twenty six then… it’s been eleven years. I’ve gotten past it, ready for other people to come into my life but just the fact of losing someone who you’ve had in your life for so long is a lot and what tears you down the most, as you probably know.” Qrow nods as he holds out a hand. Clover stared at it for a moment, he was being offered physical contact from Qrow and it was surprising but he took his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I see pictures of Mako when you return from being a plant dad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, which I should actually go handle that before I forget,” Clover says standing up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll clean up dinner, be quick,” Qrow says, he places a kiss on the others hand. Clover smiled and walked off, he could feel the heat rising to his face so he wanted to escape the apartment before Qrow noticed. He got his jacket and left, talking about Mako brought him down but that hand kiss brought him back up. He made sure to not take long and it was the fastest he’s ever driven across the city, watered all his plants, and drove back after grabbing the picture from his utility belt and driving back. He grabbed the black container from the glove box and left for the others apartment. The container was black but had a red dragons eye in the center on top. Mako painted it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was fast,” Qrow muses with a slightly raised eyebrow as he opened the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You told me to be quick, so I was quick.” He was panting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you just run up all the stairs?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dumbass.” Qrow had a fond smile on his face which contradicted the tone and the word he used. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have the pictures.” He held the box out to Qrow, the other picture was on top of it. He carefully took it and the pair sat on the couch. He flipped over the first picture and smiled. Jet black hair with electric blue streaks was slicked back on his head, he had piercing ice blue eyes, a mask with monster like teeth covered half his face. His outfit was quite simple, utility belt, black military pants, black military style boots, black long sleeve shirt with detailings of dark blue, and black gloves. He was of athletic build and very well toned. He was sitting cross legged on the edge of one of the taller buildings in the city. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So this was the famous Mako,” he muses. Clover nods as he reaches over and opens the box. “Are all of these polaroid pictures?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mako liked them, easier for him to put places. He always had it on his belt or on him in some way,” he replies leaning against Qrow. He hadn’t looked in this box for years but it was nice. “You’ll also learn that he’s covered in freckles and you’ll see some goofy photos of me.” The very first picture Qrow picked up was of the pair. Mako was a blur as he was falling from the ceiling and Clover was laughing. “Mako was big into spray paint art, this was one of the locations and we brought a friend and they took the picture right as Mako slipped, I noticed and busted out laughing.” Qrow smiled. He set it aside with the other one and went through a few more of Mako, three shirtless and goofing around, one of him in a shark onesie with a shark stuffie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, that sits on your dash.” Clover just nods. The next one Qrow picked up made him smile. It was just Clover sitting on the edge of a pool with a bright smile on his face as he took in the sun with his eyes closed. “Let me guess, the next one is going to be chaotic as all hell.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The next two or three.” Qrow picks up the next one and laughs, he couldn’t see Mako but he just saw fear on Clover as a wall of water was in front of him, the next one is Mako grabbing onto Clover, then the third one was just a large splash from the two falling in. It took around thirty minutes to get through the photos. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was really cute,” Qrow says as he holds one of just Clover. Mako was big into photography as proved by the sunset photos and the many of just Clover. The one Qrow held though was taken after a rough night so they went to the edge of the city at one of their tagging spots and watched the sun set. It was a picture taken a bit of a distance from Clover but next to him so it was a side view, the last golden rays of the sun caught his features beautifully. He really liked it. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for listening and for telling me about Summer this morning,” Clover replies shifting a bit. Their sides were pressed together, an arm is stretched across both shoulders while the side of his head is leaned on the closest shoulder. His other hand found Qrow’s. “I really trust you, Birdie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I really trust you, Charms,” Qrow replies leaning his head against Clover’s. Qrow closed the box after setting the photos back inside, he stacked them so that all he had to do was flip the pile and they’d be in the same order. He kept the one of Mako in hitman uniform out and set it face down on the box as he set it on the table. He leaned back and Clover went with him, his arms shifting to rest around his waist. Qrow hooked his right leg around Clover’s left leg which brought them closer. He also switched which hand was holding Clover’s so he could wrap an arm around him. The pair fell asleep right there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ended up sleeping the whole night through and would’ve slept in more, it was around 11am, if it weren’t for Qrow’s work phone going off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow was on his feet after freeing himself from the tangle of Clover’s limbs. Lightheadedness hit him and he stumbled before strong arms caught him. Clover got him leaned up against a wall as he hunted down the phone and returned tossing it to him. He flipped it open and put it to his ear. “Harbinger,” he says still gripping the corner of the wall. “What about Kingfisher?” Clover moves forward and presses his ear to the back of the phone as he wraps an arm securely around Qrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jacques, wants to know where he is. His phone has been off and he’s been off the grid,” the womans voice say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I have no clue where he is, he’s my rival so why would you ask me?” Qrow snaps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no clue! I was just told to talk to you about it! Now go rest, I have a job for you tomorrow.” She hangs up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck, I guess I should check in with him,” Clover mumbles. “I’ll be back later tonight for dinner, that alright?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Always, I could use some more relaxation time before I get a new mission tomorrow,” Qrow says with a small smile. “Be safe, I think I’m going to pay a visit to Robyn so let me give you my number so you can message me when you’re on the way.” They exchanged numbers and Clover left. He stopped by his apartment to get into uniform and broke his work phone and left it somewhere before heading to the mansion. He parked and hopped out going to the door and walking right in. He walked through the halls and to the study. He knocked three times. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come in,” a voice orders. Clover pushes the door open and closes it behind him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell happened to you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phone got destroyed in a fight, got a bit hurt and had to lay low for the week,” Clover replies simply. “I don’t just work for you, y’know.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah but you contact me when you decide to go off the grid for a week!” Jacques shouts getting to his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My phone got destroyed, how was I supposed to contact you?” Clover snaps back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare lie to me!” Jacques yells backhanding Clover. Of course the one time he didn’t wear the respirator. He was about to be struck again but he whips around and catches his arm, twisting it before slamming his foot into the back of his knee which caused him to drop to them. He pins the leaders arm to his back and leans close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t get to hit me,” Clover growls. “You don’t need to have constant access to my life, I don’t need to be your </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who saved your life all those years ago? Who helped you recover from losing your precious Mako? Who do you owe your life to?” Jacques growls whipping his head to the side so he catches Clover in the face. He jolted a bit and his grip loosened just enough for Jacques to escape. A fist meets Clover’s nose, a fist that has a lot of rings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fucker! I owe you nothing! I am a free man!” he shouts as a metallic taste fills his mouth. Blood was flowing steadily from his nose and more from a gash on the bridge of his nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! You work for me! I just give you the sense of freedom!” Jacques snaps dodging a punch but gets a knee to the gut. He stumbles back and glares at Clover. He charged and wrapped his arms around the hitman's waist and rams him into the wall. He pulls back and grabs Clover by the hair and slams his head back. Everything goes black. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow sighs as he pushes open the study. “Afternoon, Robyn,” Qrow says. “I want information on Jacques.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” she asks turning in her chair, she was surprised to even see him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just drop it all on me,” he replies sitting on her desk. She sighs and pulls out a few files before beginning. He would spend his whole afternoon there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clover woke up a while later, his feet were barely touching the ground and his wrists were in cuffs with his arms stuck straight above his head. He was just in his black jeans and boots. “Finally,” Jacques sighs. “You were asleep for almost five hours.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the one who slammed my head into a wall,” Clover replies with a growl. That earns him a punch to the gut. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now where were you all week?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In my apartment, I was recovering.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t lie to me.” A searing pain hit Clover as a hot rod was pressed into his back right above his left hip in a diagonal so the end was in the middle of his back. He grits his teeth to avoid any noise from escaping him. “Now answer the fucking question!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I already told y-” He’s cut off by his own scream as the rod is pressed harder into his skin but this time against his right shoulder blade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me!” he shouts slamming the unheated end into his upper spine which sent pain all over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a highly trained hitman! You think that’s going to get me say shit?” Clover snaps. There was a loud noise of chains cranking and his feet were no longer on the ground. Pain cut into his wrists, he could feel blood trickling down his arms. A whip cracked and pain hit him. Two more times he was whipped before there was a break. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Harbinger.” There was a slight reaction from Clover and that gave Jacques his answer. He steps forward and digs his fingertips into the largest gash. “Why did you spend a week with him? What have you told him?” He digs his fingers deeper. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I spent a week with him for personal reasons, out of work!” he shouts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you tell him!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mako!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What else!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told him you were a homophobic dickbag!” The pain in that spot of his back lessened but then he was hoisted into the air more. More blood started to make its way down his arms. Blood stained his hair as more got onto his skin, more of the thick crimson liquid dripped down his back and soaked into his jeans. Pain overwhelmed all his senses making it hard to think. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll kill him,” Jacques says adjusting his gloves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will!” The whip cracks and more pain wells up in Clover’s side he barely noticed the next few strikes. “You will or you’ll bleed out! I’ll block you out from every source of medical treatment you can get!” There was a pause. “You kill him and I won’t touch a hair on Marrow’s head… I know how much he means to you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t,” he growls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will, now get dressed and go kill Harbinger!” Clover drops, the cuff still on his wrists. He yanks his arms apart and breaks the chain keeping the cuffs attached to each other. His breathing was labored as he stood up on shaky feet and took the black button up being held out to him. He pulled it on and buttoned it up, the tears now falling were not for the pain anymore, they were for Qrow. As he was leaving, a servant handed him his pistol and he holstered it before leaving. He struggled to walk, driving was hell but he had a mission. One he must carry out, for Marrow. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fight time! Trigger warning for decapitation.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Clover reached the apartment building and took the fire escape despite the pain it caused him, that pain didn’t bother him anymore, It was all mental pain. Tears still fell as he slipped into the other hitman’s apartment. He gripped his bloody side as his shaking hand held his pistol. Qrow looked concerned as he stood up from the couch. “Clover,” he says softly, his hand was behind his back gripping the pistol in the waistband of his jeans. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to kill you,” Clover mumble</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you don’t,” Qrow says pulling his pistol out but immediately tossing it. “What did he say to you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s going to hurt Marrow, wait not hurt... Kill,” Clover says shifting his weight and wincing. He pulled his hand away a bit to readjust it and there was the gentle patter of blood hitting the hardwood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cloves… you’re hurt.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That doesn’t fucking matter! He’s going to hurt my kid!” He was beginning to feel numb but black bit at the edges of his vision. He couldn’t feel anything anymore. “I don’t want to do this, I really don’t.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then don’t, contact the rest of your team,” Qrow says. “Clover, please… we can kill him.” That got his attention. “We can kill Jacques, Robyn is willing to help me. If you get your team to watch Marrow, I can patch you up at your base and then we can go after him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t understand. Jacques is a powerhouse here… but I’d rather die then kill you,” Clover says, he was beginning to sway on his feet as black bit at the edges of his vision. He pressed the barrel of the pistol against his own temple but before he could pull the trigger, he collapsed. Panic shot through Qrow as he ran over and dropped to his knees. He realized almost the whole shirt was soaked in blood. He got it off him and covered his mouth with his blood covered hand. There was a deep gash starting on his front and curves around his side ending on his back, three more crossed his back in a messy pattern. He cursed and searched Clover’s cell. He found it and figured out the password and called Marrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s been a minute,” Marrow says in his normal tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not Clover, call your team to the base. You have Clover’s boss after you,” Qrow says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck, I already have Elm here. I’ll talk to her and we’ll call the others. What’s going on with Clover?” He asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was tortured, whipped and evidently burned a bit. His wrists are cut too, most likely from restraints,” Qrow reports as he gets Clover into a sitting position before going to find the kit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does anyone need to come to you?” Marrow asks, he was running through the base.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, focus on your safety. I’ll be there with him in a bit.” Qrow hangs up and grabs his stitching kit and returns to Clover. It took a bit of time and by the time he finished Clover was waking up again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell happened?” Clover grumbles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You almost bled out on my floor after I tried talking you out of killing me because your boss tortured you then threatened Marrow,” Qrow says. Recognition crossed his face and he remembered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We gotta get to the base,” Clover says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on, bandages,” Qrow replies. He had talked to Robyn and they had a plan. He quickly explained the plan to Clover before giving him a bunch of pain meds as well as a bit of a pick me up drug. Clover didn’t bother with a shirt, just got one of his pistols from his car and a few knives while Qrow geared up and the pair left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much do you know about Jacques?” He asks as he sits passenger in his car. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything, Robyn knows a lot and she told me everything she knows,” Qrow replies. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then you know that we need to work together, he’ll come with other men so we need to be careful, it’s why I’m bringing my sniper. He averagely travels with 5 men, I can take out two from the roof while you take out at least one then that should lead to only two being left but since he’s meeting with Robyn he might bring more.” Qrow nods and picks up speed after glancing at the time. They got to the roof that overlooked an alleyway where Robyn stood by herself. They got set up right as Jacques came stalking into the alleyway. No one was with him, a surprise. “Change of plans, I’m hopping to that roof so we can be on either side of Robyn.” Qrow nods and watches him go. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, Jacques, but we’ve got some things to settle,” Robyn says, that was their cue. The two dropped down, landing in the classic superhero pose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover,” he growls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, sir, but I’m done working for you,” Clover says standing up straight, cracking his knuckles and unholstering his pistol, spinning it before he cocks it. Jacques looks between the three of them before unholstering his own pistol and aiming for Qrow. Clover rammed into Qrow as Robyn went forward. The gunshot echoed through the alleyway. Clover hit the ground as Qrow used the stone wall to get himself to Jacques, Robyn had him distracted so he kicked him in the back as Robyn kicked his knee in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover!” Qrow shouts as he spins. Robyn looked over at Clover pulling himself up, blood was dripping from a hole in his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wat-“ the loud noise of a whip cracking cut him off as Qrow dropped, pain clear in his face as there was a large tear in his red button up. Jacques whistled and a group blocked off the exit to the alley, it was more then five. Jacques backed up to be close to them as Clover pulled Qrow up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Need an assist?” A loud voice shouts from the rooftops as people drop down behind them. Clover’s team. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marrow,” Clover says softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be careful, I’ve got a bulletproof vest on. It’ll protect me from his whip too,” he replies. “I’ll be okay, trust me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And we got his back, don’t we?” Elm says. The other two nod. The groups locked eyes, Clover took the first attack. His bullet lodged itself in the skull of one of Jacques’s men, there was the sound of a sword being unsheathed and a smile took to Clover’s face at the sight of Qrow with his weapon. Robyn opened fire as the two hitmen charged Jacques. The rest of Clover’s team were locked in combat with the rest of Jacques’s men. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow used Clover to get higher up but as he was middair going for a ledge, the whip wrapped around his ankle and he slammed into the concrete, he could hear the cracking of some of his ribs. He would stay down for a short moment. Clover had none of that and was locked in hand to hand combat with Jacques soon enough, it caused him to hook the whip back onto his belt so Qrow had a chance to escape but he was still recovering. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jacques struck Clover in the head, right below his eye. Before he could fully pull away, an arm hooked around his. A fist hits his chin and he stumbles back, Clover uses the momentum to throw him to the ground before kicking him in the gut. He spun and pulled Qrow to his feet which unfortunately gave Jacques the chance to get up. Qrow pushed Clover out of the way and winced as the whip cracked, it got him mostly on the right shoulder but also onto his back. Clover steadied him and took the next hit from the whip just so he could grab onto it and wrap it around his hand. He yanks back and Jacques lets go so he doesn’t get pulled to the ground. The whip is cast aside and both hitman go for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover goes to punch Jacques but his fist is caught. Qrow kicks Jacques in the lower back causing him to let go. He elbowed Qrow in the side of the head and he grunted backing up. Next he turned and struck Clover who was distracted by Qrow. “You have a weakness now and I know exactly what it is!” Jacques shouts turning and kicking Qrow right in the gut sending him back, he couldn’t stabilize himself and fell. He was winded and breathing got really hard due to his the pain in his torso. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Qrow!” Clover shouts. Little did Jacques know that Qrow may be his weakness but he also was a catalyst for his pent up anger. All the fighting, shouting, and gunfire around them fell away as all he saw was a target. He charged forward both arms wrapping around his waist, the two started to roll forward. He managed to flip and slam Jacques into the ground. He released him and jumped to his feet before grabbed Jacques by his white hair and slamming his knee into his face a few times until it was bloody and beaten. He drops him and goes to Qrow, kneeling down. “Hey, hey, relax.” Qrow grabbed onto his hand and relaxed a bit which allowed more air flow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It hurts,” he croaks. His breathing was labored. “I don’t think my lungs are pierced but my ribs…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, don’t talk. This’ll be over soon,” Clover says. Qrow lets him go as Clover stands. Jacques is still writhing on the ground but is starting to pull himself up onto all fours. Clover picks up Qrow’s sword and tosses it between his hands before keeping it in his left. Jacques spit to the side and he was on his hands and knees, perfect for what Clover was about to do. He stood next to Jacques. “I’ll see you in Hell, Jacques.” He raised the sword over his head and brought it down on his neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow started to pull himself up and his eyes went to Clover. The hitman stood over the headless body of Jacques, his breathing heavy. The fight around him came to his attention again and he glanced around. Qrow was on his feet and the two locked eyes, he nodded and caught his sword after it was tossed to him. He looked back around and spotted Robyn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Robyn was being ganged up on but Clover slid into the center of the circle and threw one of his knives, it caught a guy in the eye, he spun and roundhouse kicked another in the head as the guy next to him was sliced through. She smiled at the two of them before the three were fighting back to back. More men seemed to keep coming. “We gotta get out of here!” Qrow shouts as he notices Clover slowing down, blood dripped off him which showed that his stitches had been reopened, as well as his own slowing movements and his labored breathing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Copy that!” Elm shouts boosting Marrow up. He cleanly escaped, despite one arm being very bloody and it seemed very painful to use. Clover’s team was cleared and Robyn was making her way to the roof but kept an eye on the other two who were struggling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you leave me here, you can escape,” Clover says, his own breathing becoming labored as he slumped against Qrow. The drugs were wearing off and he was bleeding quite severely. Qrow wasn’t looking too good, breathing was hard from him and he was covered in cuts and had a few bullet wounds. It was clear that they were the main targets. They had air coverage for the moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving you, Charms,” Qrow says, tears burning in his eyes. He was terrified, Clover needed medical attention badly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me, I’ll see you at my base,” Clover says. Qrow kisses him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You better come back to me you bastard,” Qrow says, not caring about his voice breaking. He got his ass to the roof with Robyn’s assistance. Clover hides behind the large dumpster at the back of the alley as he makes a call, one he hadn’t made in a long time. It didn’t take long before he heard loud tires screeching and loud voices before heavy gunfire. Relief washed over him. Soon a head with a fluffy bright pink mohawk poked around the corner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kingfisher! Brother, it has been too long,” the male says, he had the same mask as Mako. He pulled Clover up and glanced him over. “Yup, come along.” At the entrance to the alleyway as well as in the alleyway were an assortment of people but they all wore the same styled masks. This was Mako’s Shiver, a group of sharks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hammerhead, I need to go back to my base,” Clover huffs. He started coughing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not in that condition, no way,” the male replies whistling. Two others ran over and picked up Clover, he couldn’t do anything that would allow him to escape. “Oi! Loot them and load up, we’re heading back! Don’t be late for dinner!” The other sharks nod or give some form of acknowledgement before Clover was loaded into one of the jeeps and they swiftly sped off. The Shiver was more of a gang then anything but they had members who were hitmen and they did anything for family, Clover was still family. He didn’t remember much of the ride but he does know that he ended up blacking out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow paced on the roof as he watched and waited. It had been an hour and there was still no sign of him. Elm and Vine were doing recon while Marrow was with Qrow. His shoulder was bandaged with his arm in a sling, he had gotten shot in the shoulder with a .45 so the exit wound was brutal. He was lucky though. “He’ll be okay… he said to trust him, so trust him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you and the others not telling me?” Qrow snaps spinning to face the younger male. He looked scared at the sudden change in tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He most likely called for assistance,” Marrow replies softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“From who?” Qrow asks stepping closer. Marrow started to sink back, avoiding eye contact. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Shiver,” he whimpers. Qrow stepped back, eyes wide. “It was Mako’s old group, he was born and raised with them. Clover is still considered the brother to the leader despite never marrying Mako and Mako and Hammerhead not even being related.” He was oversharing a bit and most of it Qrow didn’t even catch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit,” he mumbles. “I didn’t think they were still here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’ve been quiet, Hammerhead is planning something… probably something to do with the fishing and whaling industries.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do we need t-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’ll be okay, we just gotta wait. If we go into shark territory, we’ll be eaten alive… possibly quite literally.” Qrow sighed and sat down holding his head in his hands. His anxiety was spiking more now. Marrow leaned on him a bit in a comfort type way. The two sat there together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clover’s eyes opened and was greeted with the dim lights of a room. The room smelled of the earth and water. He glanced around the room and learned why, outside the window was the ocean which meant his room was submerged. The room itself was made of stone bricks, moss grew on the walls and there was lots of moisture in the room as well. Bandages were bound tight around his torso, shoulder, legs and some strips were on his face to keep those cuts sealed. His eyes stopped at a young man guarding the door, the normal shark mask, jet black hair that was buzzed around the sides but long enough to be in a bun on top. He wore a black leather jacket, white shirt, dark grey jeans, and black boots. He was unarmed other then the pistol in his thigh holster. “Morning, Kingfisher, I will go alert Hammerhead,” he says, he then left and Clover was left in the quiet of the stone room, there was the gentle noise of the ocean outside. A small lamp sat on the desk which was the only lightsource. Other then the desk, the bed and nightstand were the only other things there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pink haired male stepped in, a bright smile was on his face and showed off his sharp teeth. Not all his teeth were like that, just a few in the front and it was more dog or vampire like then shark. He was in a different outfit now, grey muscle shirt, shark tooth necklace, black skinny jeans, and black boots. “Morning, King,” he says dismissing the guard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Michael, what time is it?” Clover asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“4:36am, why do you ask?” the male replies, his eyes were so dark they appeared to be mostly black but they had a mischievous glint to them. He was covered in tattoos, most were tied to sea life. The one that stands out the most was the one on the back of his right shoulder, it was a crimson shark done in a tribal style. Mako had that on his lower back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to get back to my base right now, Michael,” Clover says, getting up and wincing at the pain shooting through him. He felt sluggish too, everything seemed slow. He remembered the drug and that it seemingly sped everything up, that’s what got him through the fight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to stay in bed,” Michael replies, grabbing onto him to steady him. He guided him to the desk where he sat him down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to get to Qrow… I promised him.” His breathing was a bit rough and the room was spinning. The sitting helped and things eased up a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, fine, let me get you a shirt or something first.” Michael left as Clover was trying to find his phone. When Michael returned he immediately asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shot.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phone?” Clover took Michael’s phone and dialed the number, he was hoping he remembered it correctly. It rang a bit before someone picked up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Qrow?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clover? Holy shit, are you okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there soon, okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, please hurry.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will, I’m sorry.” He hangs up and holds the phone back out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wipe it and keep it, I have others,” Michael replies. “Now put this on.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whose hoodie is this?” Clover asks as he pulls the hoodie on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mine. Maybe it’ll give you a reason to visit.” Clover chuckled as he adjusted it before being dragged out of the room. There were lots of stairs and Clover’s body did not like that but it was worth it, the Jeep seats were comfortable. “Yeah, you bled all over the backseat of my favorite Jeep.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your fault for putting me in it.” That got him hit upside the head. Clover figured out how to put on music and blasted that the whole drive. Michael turns it down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what’s up with you and this Qrow?” Michael asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This will be the same ruling as my real name, Qrow is Harbinger,” Clover says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your rival and one night stand guy?” He paused for a moment before nodding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… we reconnected recently and have become quite close. I think things will be different after last night.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A good different?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Clover says, unlocking the door as he sees his base. Before the Jeep came to a full stop, Clover was out of the Jeep as the steel door to the base flew open with Marrow being the one who did so, a bright smile was on his face and Clover returned it but his eyes shifted to the person barreling through the door and into him. His arms wrapped around the shaking figure. Qrow was crying. </span>
</p>
<p><span>“I- I thought I lost you,” Qrow croaks, hugging Clover tightly, but still being careful of both their injuries. Qrow had two fractured ribs and multiple bruised ribs as well as other bruised bones, skin bruising, cuts, and bullet wounds.</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Don’t worry, I’m here, I’m here,” Clover replies in a soft tone as he buries his face in the others hair. Michael was smiling as he stood on the seat of the drivers side so he could see over the Jeep. The two pull apart and Clover kisses Qrow, they cup each other's faces as they kiss. The two finally pulled away after a few long moments and pressed their foreheads together. </span></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. I'm planning on uploading the next chapter in a week, the next chapter does contain the light mentions of alcohol abuse. Anyways, I don't have much to say other then thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! </p>
<p>~ Kye 💖</p></blockquote></div></div>
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